Things Forbidden (3 page)

“I like you,” he said, his voice a deep whisper.  His response was not at all what she had expected.  She snapped her head back to look up at him, confusion and surprise twirling in her big blue
eyes.  He hovered over her, his grip around her waist strong.  His lips parted and she could feel the heat of his breaths on her own lips.  Her body tingled in anticipation, the hot flush that ran over her body making her want to melt in his arms.  He reveled in the overwhelming scent of her desire, thoroughly pleased with her obvious attraction to him.  His eyes caught hers as they teetered on the edge of a kiss.

“It would be such a shame if I had to kill you,” he said, his words barely more than a mumble, but she heard them perfectly clear and it jolted her out of her daze.  She pulled away from him, turning around to confront him.

“Kill me?” she said.  He could see the fright on her face and it tugged oddly at his chest.  He brushed away the feeling, allowing his amusement to get the better of him once more.

“If you breach our contract you will become indentured to me,” he said, the devilishly handsome smirk spreading across his face, “Break the contract and you become my slave.  I can do with you whatever I see fit.”

The true meaning of her thoughtless actions finally sunk in.  She had in fact, done something extremely stupid.  She cursed her reckless nature.  She had to find a way out of this.  There was no way she would be indentured to a demon, and judging by his behavior thus far he would most likely try to make that happen.  She needed to know the rules to this thing if she was going to figure a way out of it.  Maybe there was a loophole or something.

“Ok,” she said, lifting her chin, hoping to appear more confident than she actually was.  “If we have a contract, then I am entitled to know all the details that pertain to it.”

“That you are,” he said.  He figured she would eventually figure that one out.  It was the first thing most humans thought of when they were trying to wiggle out of a contract.  He technically was obligated to answer any question asked that had to do with the deal that was made.   Though, being a demon of exceptional expertise, he had learned many ways to get around the many rules that he was held to.  He reached into his jacket, pulling out a rolled up piece of paper.  He held one end, letting the other roll open.  It fell all the way to the ground and tumbled to her feet.  She watched in shock as the blank paper lit up with letters of fire, and words were burned onto the paper.  They were tiny words, and there were a lot of them.  “If you would like to read them, be my guest.”

With a jerk of his wrist the paper rolled back up onto itself.  He held the scroll out to her, that same cocky grin spreading on his face. 

“Although,” he said as she reached out for the paper, “I would suggest you hurry.  There is a time clause to our little contract, and as I’ve said, I am a very curious demon.”

Chapter Five

He began to circle her again, his eyes watching with a twinkle that completely unnerved her.  She had to really think about her next move.  This demon was tricky, and he was doing his best to trap her.  What his true intentions were, she still could not discern. 

“What’s your name?” she asked.  She wanted to know who she was dealing with.  A sudden darkness clouded his features.

“Do not ever ask me that,” he snapped.  There was such malice behind his voice, such a sudden shift in his demeanor that it frightened her.  “You will never know my name, girl.”

He could see that he had scared the girl.  It was not his intention, but that was something so guarded by every demon that to ask for it was the most offensive thing one could do.  Not that the girl would know that.  He realized she was likely only being curious.  But to learn the name of a demon was to control that demon.  And there were only two creatures in existence that had ever known his name, his mother and father.  He intended to keep it that way. 

“
I
..
I’m
sorry,” she said, stumbling over her words, trying to understand what had so drastically changed his mood.  She did not like his mirthful nature much, but his angry one was downright terrifying.  She had seen what he could do, and even though he had told her that he could not harm her, she still did not want to make him mad. 

“
Never mind
that,” he said, pushing aside the insult.  His features relaxed back into a playful smirk.  “We should get started.”

“Wait,” she said, her curiosity getting the better of her.  “Don’t you want to know my name?”

“I already know your name, girl,” he said, his characteristic smirk crossing his lips as he drew his words out seductively slow, “Zoe.”

The sound of her name on his lips made her want to melt into a puddle on the ground.  He was so captivating, his voice so smooth, that it took her a moment to register what he had just said.  Her eyes blinked in rapid succession as her lips flopped open like a fish trying to form words. 

“How do you know my name?” she demanded, finally finding her voice.  Her eyes narrowed on him as she put a hand on the curve of her hip. 

“I like to know who I do business with,” he said with a wave of his hand.  He was so thoroughly enjoying the way her emotions ran wild in her. 
Going from scared, to curious, to brave all in the same breath.
 

That wasn’t a very satisfying answer, but Zoe knew that was all she was going to get out of him.  She sucked in her bottom lip, nibbling nervously on the edge as he continued to watch her with a burning intensity.  The desire that was reflected in his smoky eyes brought a tickle to her stomach.  He was like a tiger stalking its prey.

As he watched her fidgeting under his steady gaze, he ran through his mind all the wonderful things he was going to do with this hypnotizing creature.  He was going to take his time, as much time as their contract would allow, learning what it was about her that had him so enthralled.  And if at all possible, maneuver her into belonging to him for the rest of eternity.  But there was something he wanted right now that he couldn’t wait any longer for.

His eyes trained on her lips as she chewed on one side with her dull human teeth.  His nose picked up the sudden spike in her arousal and he stepped closer to her, closing the small gap between them.  The smell mixed so deliciously with the natural note of amber in her scent.  He could feel himself stir as she sucked in a nervous breath.  His hand reached up to feel the soft skin of her round cheek with the back of his fingers. 
A subtle
warmth radiated from her, making him want more, so much more.  He couldn’t hold back his desires any longer.  His lips came down, capturing hers in a heated frenzy.  He had wanted so badly to taste her, and as his lips began to fight with hers, he was certainly not disappointed.

His fervor caught her slightly off guard, as did her body’s reaction to him.  Her mind screamed to push him away. 
To stop this.
  But her body was willfully compliant, heating to a feverish pitch at his increasingly rough touch.  The heat throbbed between her thighs as he pulled her body tightly into his.  She could feel the unnatural chest muscles beneath her palms begin to ripple as his hands roamed her body.  

Every sense he had was overtaken by her.  Her skin was so soft and warm.  Her smell was clean and innocent with the musky overtone of her intense arousal.  Her taste was the most delicious thing his taste buds ever had the pleasure of experiencing.  His fingers tangled in her honey hair, pulling her in closer.  He felt himself harden, his excitement rising even higher as the girl responded to his arousal by pressing herself further against him.

Then he felt the call, pulling gently on the back of his mind.  He wanted to growl in irritation.  He wanted to ignore it, but he knew he could not.  He had to leave the girl now, or risk being discovered and very severely reprimanded.  He may have a contract with her, but he had no intention of actually turning it in.  It merely allowed him to do as he pleased with her and remain off the radar for it.  A soft moan echoed in her throat, making it even harder for him to stop.  There was nothing he wanted more out of his immortal life than to finish this current line of action.  Unfortunately that would have to wait.  The call was binding to all his kind, and no one dared ignore it, not even one as powerful as he. 

“That is enough for tonight,” he said through heavy breathes as he pulled away from her.  He was pleased to see the small pout that formed on her lips at the abrupt stop.

“Wait,” she said, snapping out of her daze with a blink, “There are more nights?  That’s not what I signed up for.  I want to be done with all this now.”

“I will be seeing you soon, Zoe,” he said a cocky half smile on his face as he trailed a finger down her narrow chin.

He disappeared from her sight in an instant and she released a heavy breath, feeling the weight of his presence lifting.  She had to do something about this.  There had to be some way she could gain the upper hand.  The demon had a very particular way of dressing.  That would be her starting point.

Zoe’s fingers unconsciously dabbed at
her lips as she tried
her hardest
to pay attention to the lecture.  Al
l she could think about was the
kiss. 
The way his lips felt against hers,
so firm and demanding
.
  It was so wrong, she knew it was, but it felt so amazingly good.  She could feel her cheeks blushi
ng as she recalled his taste.  He was so
sinfully delicious.  The way his presenc
e left her knees feeling weak.  The way her name sounded in his
honeyed baritone of a voice.  She could lie to anyone else, but she couldn’t lie to herself.  She wanted more of
him,
even though she knew he was a very bad thing to want. 

“Ms. Carver,” the
professor
’s
voice
was stern as he cut
into her daydream. “Is there something you find more interesting?”

“No, Dr. Lawrence,” Zoe said, swallowing the lump of embarrassment in her throat as she sat up
in her seat,
trying to look attentive. 
There was, in fact, something she found much more interesting. 
“Sorry, I’m
listening
.”

He gave her a disapproving scowl before returning to his lecture.   Zoe looked down at her watch.  The class had just begun, but it felt like he had been droning on for hours.  She had to clear her mind of this demon
.  This class was important and
the last thing she needed was another distraction.  She was definitely going to have to do something this.  Whe
n the class finally ended, she made her way
over to the library.  She had some research to do.

#

He was late to the call, which was s
o unlike him.  H
e had no new
contracts,
none that he intended to turn in
anyway
.
  On top of that, the council had gathered.
  He wanted to punch something.  How could he forget about the Council?  It was that girl.  She had him so distracted, he couldn’t think of
anything else.  He should have known the minute he felt the call it was them, but he had let that completely slip his mind while he was busy spying on the girl. 

“Paris
,” his long time co-worker said coming up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder.  “Where have you been all week?  Chasing down a lucrative contract?”

He looked back at his friend, Jackson. 
Paris
, of course, was not his real name.  Not knowing anyone’s name could get a little tricky, so most demons went by a nickname, usually based on where they were from. 
He was not actually from Paris, but he had worked hard to cultivate that belief.  The less anybody knew about the real him the better. 
Jack
son was originally from
Mississippi.  He liked to play the wealthy southern gen
t, and
l
ooked every bit the part.  H
is golden hair
was
gelled and slicked backwards on his head, his face always freshly shaved
into a tidy goatee
.  He eve
n faked a heavy southern accent, drawing out his words and dropping his vowels. 
 

“I’ve been busy
,” he replied,
trying to avoid the question.  He knew he didn’t have an answer, and he was
hop
ing his friend wouldn’t push the issue
further. 

“Busy, huh
?” Jackson said with
one eyebrow cocked in suspicion
. 

Paris
had no delusions.  He
knew Jackson
didn’t believe him for one second.  
They
owned an upscale boutique of men’s clothing in the downtown area together
, and since opening Paris had not missed a single day
. 
It was highly out of character for him to miss work.